11. Maddie

The question lingered in the air, and Maddie could barely process what he had asked. The funeral had been tiring, and going through the entire day without bursting into tears had taken a toll on her, and she felt like she was shutting down again. She felt as numb as she had the day that she'd gotten the call about the accident. But this time, Ian was in front of her, taking care of her.

Lifting her gaze to meet his, "I'm exhausted, Ian. Can I just go to bed?"

"I think you should take a bath. I know you're tired, but I think you'll sleep better if you soak in the hot water for a bit. I'll help you, baby. Trust me?"

Of course, she trusted him. She trusted him completely.

"Okay."

Ian nodded and walked her over to grab a hairband from the counter, then stepped behind her and pulled her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head.

"We won't wash your hair tonight since you washed it this morning."

Stepping back in front of her, his hands reached for her waist and pulled the string of her wrap dress, pulling the bow apart. He opened the dress and pushed it off her shoulders, leaving her standing in her black lace bra and black cotton panties. A shiver ran through her when his hand brushed against her bare shoulder.

"Cold?" he asked.

Not at all.

She nodded. He didn't linger and moved quickly to remove her bra and panties. She tried to cover herself with her arms as best as she could, but not before she saw his eyes sweep down her body. He held out his hand for her to take hold of.

"Come on, step in so you can get warm."

Taking his hand, she stepped into the tub and sank under the foamy bubbles. Maddie laid back against the headrest and closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh.

"I'm going to go find some pajamas for you and get your bed ready. Are you going to be okay?"

He was really taking care of everything for her. She knew he was hurting too, and she felt bad that she was taking all his attention, but she didn't know how she would have made it through everything without him.

"I'll be okay. Thank you, Ian."

He disappeared out of the bathroom, leaving the door open behind him. He wasn't gone for very long before reappearing with a towel in hand. He sat on the edge of the tub, looking down at her.

"The service today was really beautiful. Thank you for taking care of everything," she said.

He nodded, "You're welcome. It did turn out beautiful."

Ian stared at her for a long moment before he spoke again.

"Do you want to tell me what came over you when you were getting into it with Victoria?"

She couldn't help but smile. It had felt good to tell the bitch off. She'd had it coming.

"She shouldn't have come. Cam wouldn't have wanted her there."

"You're right. She didn't belong there, but that wasn't what I was talking about. I was talking about how you acted when she tried to talk to me."

Maddie blushed and lowered her gaze from his. She didn't know what had come over her, but she knew she hated the thought of another woman flirting with him. Especially Victoria.

"I didn't like her talking to you like that. She's a bitch, and she had already hurt one of the people I love. I'm not going to let her try to dig her claws into another."

Ian reached out and cupped her chin, lifting her head until she looked into his eyes.

"Thank you for trying to protect me, but I assure you, Victoria would never get her claws into me. It was adorable how you got all possessive of me."

She rolled her eyes, "I didn't get all possessive of you."

He chuckled, "If we were dogs, I think what you did was equivalent to you peeing on me to mark me as yours."

Maddie thrust her hand under the water towards him, trying to splash him just a little bit. Only instead of a little bit, a wave of water went over the edge and soaked his shirt. She looked at him in shock as he looked down at his wet shirt and then back at her.

"Seriously, brat?"

She tried to sink lower in the water, but his large hand gripped her bicep, holding her in place.

"Say you're sorry, little girl."

Oh shit.

Her pussy clenched. Looking over at him as innocently as she could, but her mouth practically dropped open as he whipped off his drenched shirt and dropped it onto the floor to mop up the water that didn't make it onto him. Her nipples hardened at the sight of his muscular chest and defined abs. Apparently, boxing was great for a man's physique.

Closing her mouth and then opening it again, she couldn't quite get the words out. He tilted his head and arched an eyebrow. He looked stern, and it only added to the aching in her clit.

"Uh… sorry?"

She wasn't really. Because he was now in front of her with his shirt off, and it was taking a hell of a lot of restraint not to trace her finger over the muscles on his chest, down the lines of his stomach, and possibly even further south than that.

Ian rolled his eyes this time, "You are not. Come out. Out of the tub."

He stood and held the towel open for her. She hesitated, not wanting to stand up and bring attention to her hardened nipples.

"I can get out by myself. Just leave the towel."

"No. I told you I was taking care of you tonight. Out, now, before I pick you up out of there."

Maddie knew he would follow through if she didn't do what he said, which turned her on even more. She really needed to get her body under control. Maybe a cold shower would work the same for her as it did for the men in the books she'd read.

As she lifted herself from the water, she used one of her arms to cover up her breasts until she stepped into the towel that he held out for her. Ian wrapped her up and ushered her into the bedroom, carrying another towel with him. She stood awkwardly as he started drying her off from head to toe, except where she was already wrapped up. When he finished, he sat on the edge of the bed, picked up a pair of her baby blue cotton panties, and held them open.

"Come here, hold onto my shoulders."

The liquid warmth that she felt in the pit of her belly and between her thighs because of how sweet and Daddy-like he was acting made her feel as though her knees were going to buckle. If he only knew that she was picturing him as her Daddy while he was taking care of her, he would probably stop doing it, and she definitely didn't want that. But, damn, it was hard not to touch him. Maybe he would like it if she touched him. He had pulled back from kissing her, though, so maybe not.

Walking forward, she put a hand on each of his shoulders and lifted one foot at a time into her panties. When he pulled them up, the feel of his hands gliding up her legs with the material nearly made her lose her mind. The bottom of her towel lifted slightly as he settled her panties onto her hips, and she wondered if he'd caught a glimpse of her bare pussy. If he had, he didn't say anything or react at all, which she found disappointing.

Ian had picked out one of her nighties that had ruffles at the bottom and the sleeves. It was pale pink with a rainbow on it and words that said, You are my sunshine. He stood and tugged the material over her head before helping her arms find their way through the holes. He was dressing her as though she were a doll and couldn't dress herself, and she loved it. She dropped the towel after he pulled it down far enough to cover her body.

"Feel better?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah. Thank you. I know you're tired too."

He looked exhausted, and she felt bad for taking up his time that he could have been showering and getting ready for bed.

"I am. After I get you tucked in, I'm going to shower and crash. It's been a long day, and we both need to rest."

Maddie crawled into the bed on all fours, trying to give him a moment to view her bottom before she laid down.

Yeah, it was naughty, but she couldn't help it.

He handed her Stitch and began to tuck the covers around her. When he was done, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Try to sleep, Maddie-Rose."

She sighed and nodded, wishing she had the guts to tell him how she felt about him. But she didn't think she could ever admit it to anyone. The possibility of being rejected by him was too great, and she didn't think she'd be able to bear it. So, instead of being brave, she said goodnight and snuggled down under the covers to go to sleep.

It seemed like hours that she tossed and turned in bed after Ian had left, but when she looked at the clock on her phone, she realized she had only been in bed for forty-five minutes. She was exhausted and should have been able to fall asleep right away, but she couldn't shut her mind off for whatever reason. Thoughts of Cameron swirled in her head. Happy thoughts and sad thoughts, both making her miss him even more.

After lying restless for a bit longer, Maddie kicked the blankets off and decided to get out of bed. Maybe Ian was still awake and would talk with her for a bit. Grabbing Stitch, she tiptoed out of the bedroom into the hall heading towards Ian's room. His door was slightly ajar, but it looked dark in there. Standing just outside his bedroom door, she listened to see if she could tell if he was asleep or not.

"What's wrong, Maddie?" he said from inside the room.

His voice made her startle. She pushed the door open a little bit.

"I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to be alone. I wasn't sure if you were awake or not. I didn't mean to wake you up. I'll go back to bed," she rambled.

Maddie turned and started walking back to her room.

"Come here, little girl," he said firmly.

She turned, and in the dim light, she could see him getting out of bed. He was shirtless and wore a pair of sweats that sat low on his hips, showing off the V where his abdomen met his hips. Ian waited for her to come into his room before patting the bed for her.

"Come on. Get into bed with me. You don't have to sleep alone."

Licking her lips, she realized that was probably a terrible idea, but she still moved forward and climbed into his bed despite knowing that. She scooted over to the far side of the bed, closest to the wall. Ian got back into bed, lying on his side, facing her.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

His voice was deeper than usual. She assumed because he was so tired, but it was not helping to dampen the tingling between her legs.

"Not anything in particular. Just a lot of thoughts of Cameron. Remembering a lot of the good times with him. With the three of us."

"We had a lot of great times together, didn't we? Cam was always so fun and playful. And we always loved being around you. Even when you were yelling at us."

Maddie couldn't help but laugh, "I didn't yell at you guys. Besides, if you weren't such idiots at times, I wouldn't have had to yell at you."

He burst out laughing, "You just said you didn't yell at us, and then you admitted to yelling at us for being idiots."

She giggled and felt her entire body relax.

"Remember the time that you and Cam made our first Thanksgiving dinner after my mom died, and one of you left an oven mitt in the oven by accident, and it caught fire and then caught the turkey on fire?"

Ian groaned, "You aren't ever going to let us live that down, are you? We were single men in our twenties. We had no idea what the hell we were doing."

"I'm pretty sure even a ten-year-old knows not to leave an oven mitt in the oven," she said.

Ian mimicked her words, and they both started laughing.

"You are such a brat."

"I know."

He made an exasperated sound, "If you know, then why don't you stop being a brat?"

"Because it's fun riling you up," she answered honestly.

Ian murmured under his breath, and she wasn't sure exactly what he said, but she thought it was something about a spanking taking care of a girl being a brat. Maddie smiled to herself. She wished he would spank her because the thought of being across his knees was a vision that she had brought herself to orgasm too, many times.

"Remember prom?" he asked.

Maddie groaned at the thought, and he just laughed.

"It was one of the only times I saw Cameron seriously threaten someone. Normally he was the easy-going one, but when your date showed up, Cam threatened to cut off his dick and send it to his mother in a gift box if he tried anything with you or hurt you in any way. The look on that kid's face, I was surprised he didn't high tail it and run. Brave kid."

"What! I never knew he threatened him! I just thought he was all freaked out because you idiots were chaperoning the prom so you could watch us."

Ian chuckled, "I think it was probably the cutting hand motions your brother was making toward your date whenever you weren't looking that freaked him out."

She couldn't help but laugh until her stomach hurt. She couldn't imagine her brother threatening someone like that, but then again, she knew he would have done whatever he needed to do to protect her.

"He was the best brother a girl could ever ask for."

"Yeah, he was. And I know he felt that you were the best sister a guy could ever ask for."

Maddie reached out and slid her hand under Ian's on the mattress.

"Thank you, Ian."